mic@lapis.berkeley.edu.UUCP (06/10/87)
The 's' key on my keyboard is almost dying (it need more attentive touching than the rest of the keys in order to print). Now I know that AT&T keyboards are not worth a piece of -hit, but still, I wish to know how to repair myself this little inconvinience (a technicien servicing would cost more than the price of a new keyboard). Please, I am dying to receive help about this (before the s key dies altogether). By the way, I own thee keyboard since summer 1985 and never took particular care of it... Should I try to suck the dust from under the keys and how??? Michel Bruneau
dragon@oliveb.UUCP (Give me a quarter or I'll touch you) (06/11/87)
in article <3914@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>, mic@lapis.berkeley.edu (Michel Bruneau) says: > > The 's' key on my keyboard is almost dying (it need more attentive touching > than the rest of the keys in order to print). Now I know that AT&T keyboards > are not worth a piece of -hit, but still, I wish to know how to repair > myself this little inconvinience (a technicien servicing would > cost more than the price of a new keyboard). Please, I am dying to receive > help about this (before the s key dies altogether). > By the way, I own thee keyboard since summer 1985 and never took particular > care of it... Should I try to suck the dust from under the keys and how??? > Michel Bruneau Repairing a non-functioning key on MOST AT&T keyboards is pretty simple. If you have a model 301 (which is the 83-key-like-IBM model), all you need is a small screwdriver. With the power off, use the screwdriver to gently pry up on the four sides of the key top to lift it off. When you life the keytop, you'll see the actual mechanism. It is held into the assembly by two latches. Push these together and the mechanism should lift up out of the assembly. The mechanism will have a conductive rubber contact on the bottom, and the the hole where you took it from will have a pattern in the printed circuit. Most likely you will find dust/dirt on the printed circuit or on the conductive rubber. Just blow it off and put it back together the way it came apart. (This should be right for most of the AT&T keyboards, but I don't guarantee it!) p p two latches. -- Dean Brunette {ucbvax,etc.}!hplabs!oliveb!olivej!dragon Olivetti Advanced Technology Center _____ _____ __|__ _____ 20300 Stevens Creek Blvd. | | _____| | | Cupertino, CA 95014 |_____| |_____| |__ |_____
dave@lsuc.UUCP (06/15/87)
I don't know about the construction of AT&T keyboards specifically,
but many terminal keyboards can be easily cleaned, although it's
kind of tedious. First take the keyboard apart (unscrew it) and
vacuum or wipe away all the obvious crumbs, dust, etc. Then (particularly
if you have some keys which aren't working well) remove each keycap
by prying it off with a screwdriver (pry vertically to avoid damaging
it). The contact under the key can be cleaned with rubbing alcohol
(I also find baby wipes work fine!). While you're at it, if the keycap
is grubby you'll want to wipe it over too. Cleaning a whole keyboard
takes over an hour (after I did one, we hired a local high school kid
to do them at slave-labour wages :-).
Open up equipment at your own risk, of course.
David Sherman
The Law Society of Upper Canada
Toronto
--
{ seismo!mnetor cbosgd!utgpu watmath decvax!utcsri ihnp4!utzoo } !lsuc!davemobo@sphinx.UUCP (06/16/87)
In article <3914@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> mic@lapis.berkeley.edu(Michel Bruneau) writes: >The 's' key on my keyboard is almost dying (it need more attentive touching >than the rest of the keys in order to print). > Michel Bruneau I have used a 6300 all the time for 2.5 years with no extraordinary keyboard protection (keyboard covers, ha!) and have run into your problem with some regularity. Dust gets between the "keyclick assembly" and the board beneath it. Pry the offending key up by levering it from the keys above and below. The "keyclick assembly" in which the keycap sits has two little tabs that you can push out. A Q-tip can clean the dust out from below that. Plug it all back in and it works, or at least it has for me. Samuel Wilson ..ihnp4!gargoyle!sphinx!mobo FOTMOBO@UCHMVS1.Bitnet University of Chicago, Division of Social Sciences
rjd@tiger.UUCP (06/18/87)
> The 's' key on my keyboard is almost dying (it need more attentive touching > than the rest of the keys in order to print). Now I know that AT&T keyboards > are not worth a piece of -hit, but still, I wish to know how to repair > myself this little inconvinience (a technicien servicing would > cost more than the price of a new keyboard). Please, I am dying to receive > help about this (before the s key dies altogether). > By the way, I own thee keyboard since summer 1985 and never took particular > care of it... Should I try to suck the dust from under the keys and how??? > Michel Bruneau AT&T keyboards not worth a shit? In my experience, my AT&T 4425 keyboard is better than any other I have used, and that includes vt100's, HP-series, and others. My keyboard has never had any work (either preventative maintence, dust covers, or repair) other than to turn it upside down and blow some junk from in-between the keys every now and then. It bothers me for someone to slander the keyboard, then follow it up saying that "I never took particular care of it...", even though it does not require any special care. It makes me think that you are one of those that type with a sledge hammer or some such.... Good luck with fixing it, though, a dying key can be a pain, those other companies keyboards have done that to me a few times. Randy UUCP:(ihnp4!)3b2fst!randy
dmt@mtunb.UUCP (06/19/87)
In article <3914@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> mic@lapis.berkeley.edu(Michel Bruneau) writes: >The 's' key on my keyboard is almost dying (it need more attentive touching >than the rest of the keys in order to print). Now I know that AT&T keyboards >are not worth a piece of -hit, but still, I wish to know how to repair >myself this little inconvinience (a technicien servicing would >cost more than the price of a new keyboard). (In the description that follows, consider the keyboard to be lying flat in front of you, with you facing north. "Up" means away from the earth, "north" means away from you.) Use a small screwdriver to remove the key, as follows. There are two small plastic tabs that lock the key to the keyboard, north and south of the key; the one to the north is easier to see, but the other is just like it. Use the screwdriver to press the tabs in, and slide the key up and out. Clean out the dust and oxidation where the key contact hits the keyboard contact, then snap the key back in. I've had to do this to about one or two keys a year with my AT&T keyboard. Well worth it for a comfortable and fairly well laid-out keyboard. (That's the 302; I share your opinion of the 301, though cleaning works the same way.) +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | Dave Tutelman | | Physical - AT&T - Lincroft, NJ | | Logical - ...ihnp4!mtuxo!mtunb!dmt | | Audible - (201) 576 2442 | +---------------------------------------------------------------+